At the heart of the discussion was Linda J. Camp, the creator of The Backup Plan. A Minnesota-based innovator with 28 years in the public sector and 15 years teaching adult learners, Camp's journey into solo aging advocacy was deeply personal. "I am one," she shared candidly, reflecting on her own life without family nearby and the long-distance caregiving struggles for her father, who lived alone in northern New York until dementia complicated his independence. "He looked like he had the support he needed, but he was actually a solo too."
Frustrated by the lack of tailored resources—barriers like rural isolation, urban overload, and suburban silos—Camp applied her systems-thinking expertise to design a scalable model. Over a decade of experimentation, she tested formats: from top-down information sessions (too passive) to unstructured peer groups (lacking direction). The result? A flexible framework that empowers rather than dictates.
"It's a model, not a program," Camp clarified in response to an audience query. Unlike expert-led workshops with predefined topics, The Backup Plan is a bottom-up approach for building self-managing peer groups of 6-12 solo agers. Key components include:
The model's goals are threefold: equip organizations to better serve solos, cultivate communities for shared problem-solving, and motivate individuals to tackle tough tasks like healthcare directives. "People hate doing them," Camp admitted, "but it makes a difference if everyone else is struggling too—they can talk it out and divide the research."
Research underpins the peer focus. Camp cited studies, including one from the University of Pennsylvania on the Oprah Book Club, showing peers drive change more than experts. "People buy books because their friend said it was good, not because Oprah did," she explained. This "tribe" dynamic builds not just plans, but lasting bonds that combat isolation.
In Minnesota, the impact is tangible: 12 active groups, two launching soon, and seven more organizations in the pipeline—more in greater Minnesota than the Twin Cities metro. "We're offering new infrastructure where resources are limited," Camp said proudly.
Julia Ockuly, the first Backup Plan coach and volunteer service coordinator at Longfellow Seward Healthy Seniors in Minneapolis, brought the model to life. Her group, part of a "living at home block nurse program," started in 2021 amid pandemic restrictions—fittingly, their inaugural meeting was outdoors in a gazebo. "We had about eight people," Ockuly recalled. "It was coming out of isolation, and they've stuck with it."
Challenges arose: Ockuly initially struggled to step back from leadership, and socializing often eclipsed planning. "People wanted to connect, which makes sense," she said. But evolution followed. The core group of 8-12 now blends monthly socials with guest speakers on topics like healthcare directives, solo travel, death doulas, green burials, and nature accessibility. "We've delved into end-of-life planning, but also community politics and safety," Ockuly shared.